


Because that's what friends did

by madsmurf



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, One-Sided Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2013-08-27
Packaged: 2017-12-24 19:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/944004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madsmurf/pseuds/madsmurf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in 3rd year onwards. Charles Xavier is a Hufflepuff that meets Hermione Granger, their friendship lasts over the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because that's what friends did

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually written in November 2011. Was going through my googledocs and found it. Thought I'd post it.

Charles likes her, she’s smart and pretty and very nice. He likes to think she likes him too. He doesn’t know for sure though, he hasn’t actually talked to her before. It might help if he, at least, started a conversation with her. She looks like a person that would know what they are talking about. Instead he sits in his corner, glasses sliding down his nose at each tilt of his head, watching from the top of his book. He does this everyday, wondering if perhaps this would be the day he finally talks to her. Except it isn’t and he wants to kick himself everyday for doing nothing but watching like some creepy stalker. Which he isn’t. He just feels like one, everyday.

What he doesn’t expect is for her to talk to him. It shocks him and he nearly loses all the books he is carrying over to his little corner in the library.

“Hermione Granger.” she sticks out her hand, he grabs into a handshake.

“Charles Xavier.”

She smiles, and he wonders how he can keep that smile on her face forever. Then she asks what he is doing with all the books and they talk about that for hours.

 

They do this everyday for the next year.

Their little meetings go unnoticed, never leaving the library and he eagerly awaits each one.

It isn’t until the Yule Ball that he realises that he might like her more than he should. He hears Viktor Krum’s thoughts, his plans to ask Hermione to the ball, and Charles wants to hold Hermione tight and keep her away from Victor Krum because she was his friend not Viktor’s. Except he doesn’t do that. Instead he stands back and watches calmly as the events unfold because Hermione deserved the attention, she deserved the world and if Viktor Krum could give her that, even if for just one night, Charles wasn’t going to do anything to stop it.

Charles likes to think that he could never wish any pain or misfortune upon anyway but there are times when, yes, he thinks he could. The day after Yule Ball he wants to do just that. He wants to go up to Ronald Weasley and deck him. He doesn’t. He wants to, so much he wants to scream and throw a tantrum. But he doesn’t. It would upset Hermione, and he would much rather be here hugging Hermione, wiping away her tears, and reassuring her that boys did stupid things when they were jealous. She hugs him tight and mumbles that he’s a great friend into his shirt.

It’s nearly the end of their fifth year and he is visiting Hermione in the hospital wing, flowers in one hand and a card in the other. She looks positively sickly when he sees her. He doesn’t say it, merely bends down, kisses her on the cheek, hands her the flowers and card then sits down beside her. She smiles and he takes her hands and asks if she is alright, she nods, her thoughts say otherwise. He pulls her into a hug and tells her everything will be alright. She sobs and clings to him with all her might. He understands and lets her. He rubs her back and whispers reassuring words into her hair.

They stay like this until Madam Pomfrey kicks him out, insisting that Miss Granger needed her rest. He promises Hermione that he’ll back tomorrow and she smiles.

It’s their sixth year and he really wants to deck Ronald Weasley once more. He doesn’t understand why Ronald couldn’t see how much he was hurting Hermione. He doesn’t though, for the exact same reasons he didn’t do it the first time. Even though he really, really wants to do it this time. Instead he is there for her, whenever she needs him. Especially when she needs a midnight snack; having a common room right next to the kitchen came in handy, which he was grateful for. When she was sad he made her laugh by pulling a face. When she was crying he would hold her and tell her everything would be alright, she would see. When she was mad he would let her yell and scream and he would just sit there and take it all until she was done. That is what friends did for each other.

The war was raging over his head and he sat in a deserted classroom trying to block out all the despair, all the pain and all the rage. There was no serenity, nothing to balance the rage, the pain and the hurt. Voldermort’s cronies would laugh as they tortured a student and he would bite back the urge to scream with them. Each day would end with nothing but, and each day he would be thankful that Hermione did not have to suffer this. He day he hopes the war would soon end, and each day he hopes with all his might that Hermione stays where she is; safer wherever she may be; anywhere was safer than here, even if it meant that she was running around trying to save the world, while he was stuck in a classroom, unable to do anything but hope and try to ease the fear and pain.

When Voldermort announces Harry dead, Charles’ vision fails him and there is nothing but fear, sorrow and gut-wrenching pain. The world has ended. 

Once Harry kills Voldermort, Charles stumbles into a wall, the happiness so overwhelming that he can’t distinguish who’s thought and emotion is whose, and that surprises him. Nothing really surprises him anymore, so it is refreshing after a year of nothing but agony.

Hermione finds him in his corner of the library. She doesn’t say a word. Maybe it is the tears that have been running down his face for the past hour. Maybe he looks as bad as he feelings. She does nothing but pull him to her chest and whisper that everything will be alright, he would see.

He believes her and they stay like this until the next day, neither of them moving or speaking, just the two of them being there for each other.

Because that is what friends did.


End file.
